A capture of the video where a deepfake of Joaquin Oliver, a student who died in a school massacre, appears.
-
CHANGE THE REF / MCCANN HEALTH / AFP
Didn't Joaquin Oliver's parents hesitate when a communication agency asked them to create a synthesis video of their son, shot two years earlier, and calling for mobilization for the elections?
“You interview the parents of a murdered child in his school, it really takes a lot to impress us.
The bar is very high, and we said yes immediately, ”says Manuel Oliver, who lives in Florida with his wife Patricia.
Joaquin Oliver, a 17-year-old American, killed in 2018 in a shooting at his school, has been "brought back to life" to deliver a strong message to encourage Americans to vote.
Made with the agreement of his parents who have an NGO.
When AI and advertising, it gives that ... 😨 pic.twitter.com/gtUrik059h
- Edith Brou (@edithbrou) October 5, 2020
Joaquin's life came to a halt at age 17 on February 14, 2018, when a gunman shot him and 16 others at his high school in Parkland.
Her parents' life that day turned into a life of anti-gun activism.
They provided the agency with photographs of their son.
An actor resembling Joaquin recorded a message.
Then, by artificial intelligence (AI), software replaced the actor's face with that of Joaquin, like a digital mask.
"Vote for me, because I can't"
The video, published in early October on unfinishedvotes.com, lasts one minute: “Yo, it's me,” says Joaquin, hat on his head, in front of a basketball court.
He sprinkles his message with "bro" ("brother"), and uses his hands a lot, like the real one.
“I have been gone for two years, but nothing changes.
People continue to be killed by guns, ”said the young man.
"The November election is the first where I could have voted, but I will never have the opportunity to choose the world where I would have liked to live".
“Vote!
He said.
“Vote for me, because I can't.
"
When we talk about “deepfakes”, these ultra-realistic videos generated by artificial intelligence, we think of the worst (disinformation and “revenge porn”), sometimes the best (actors resurrected in the cinema, or a famous example of paraplegic people dancing ).
Joaquin's video is a special case.
Is it ethical to make a dead child speak, even for a good cause?
"This is the perfect example of the good use of these technologies", defends Manuel.
Technical obstacles
And to those who insult him, the father responds, offended, asking what is really immoral: their video, "or the way politicians deal with gun violence in this country?"
Tim Jones, the McCann New York creative who came up with this "crazy idea," didn't know how parents would react.
“It's a very macabre proposition to bring back a son.
It's very delicate ethically, psychologically.
But Patricia and Manuel were very keen, ”says this father.
The main obstacle was technical: AI normally needs thousands of images to reconstruct a person.
But, as a result of too short a life, the parents had few recent photos of Joaquin.
“He was a teenager, his face changed every day,” says Tim Jones.
The voice is that of the actor slightly altered, for lack of recordings of Joaquin.
As for the text, the parents say they were inspired by the messages written by their son.
They argue that he was interested in politics and the gun debate.
“Check out her Twitter feed,” says Patricia.
World
Americans, on edge, rush to arms before the election
World
Three-year-old dies while handling gun on birthday in US
US presidential election
United States
Killing
World
Weapons
Florida